Cookies for Love

Long you mustn't wait

Till one comes that shall 

Lit your heart 

And pull you out the pit

She gazed at it hanging on the wall, as she did before every cookie exchange. I jumped on her lap. She smiled and stroked my back gently. “Come, let’s go Tweety”

I purred indignantly. My name is Twilight. I’m not a silly yellow canary! She laughed and led the way to the hall.

I have been with Valerie since her childhood. She was a lively girl, and a brave one too. She lived with her parents in a humble house with a very large garden. Her father was a talented person, and her mother was an educated woman. Together they raised her to be a strong lady. They taught her everything they knew. Her father was her best friend, and her mother was her secret keeper. They never loved anything or anyone as much as her, and for Valerie, they were all her world (I included, of course). I lived with the Van Ryn family for as long as I can remember, and what a happy family were they. Well, no one could’ve foretold what was to happen.

In a sudden misfortune, Mr. Van Ryn died in an accident, leaving behind a sorrowful wife and a broken child. Valerie was never the same after this accident. Mrs. Van Ryn did her best to continue raising her child alone. Her husband had left them the business to run, and everything he had owned. They didn’t have any economic difficulties, but still never felt as happy after his death. 

Mrs. Van Ryn (Rebecca as I liked to call her) noticed the glimmer that had disappeared from her daughter's eyes after that day but tried as she might she was never able to bring it back again. 

Valerie helped her mother. She tried to go back to her normal life, but couldn’t. Her father had left a hole in her heart that she could never replace. Her mother always tried to make her happy, encouraging her to make new friends, yet every time she did anything she remembered her father’s smile, his voice and his ringing laugh, and sorrow crawled again on whatever she did. He was the world to Valerie, and with him, everything was gone. She continued her life normally, but duly, and only for her mother. 

***

Now Valerie is a young woman. After a long and hard-earned life, her mother had passed away a couple of years earlier, leaving her alone in this home (of course she still had me). Valerie kept holding the annual cookie exchange party, as her mother had asked her to do. 

Every year in memory of her father’s death, Valerie made this party for all the families in the neighborhood. It was one of the little things this small snuggly neighborhood looked for all year long. They had all loved the Van Ryns and their daughter, (and now they love them even more, I bet). 

Everyone brought their own cookies, however, they always came to get some of Valerie’s cookies. The Van Ryns were very famous for their Raspberry-Chocolate Cookie. It was the parents' recipe. The raspberries were picked from the garden bushes and were known as the best in the whole neighborhood. 

Valerie never made the cookies. They held too many memories for her and she couldn’t handle the grip these reminiscences had on her heart, so she left them for the cook to make after her mother’s death. She never knew why her mother insisted on holding this party, and why she told Valerie to promise she’ll always do it, every year after her death. All she left her as a clue to the reason was this poem: 

Long you mustn't wait

Till one comes that shall 

Lit your heart 

And pull you out the pit

Valerie put the poem in a frame and hung it on the wall. She had memorized it by heart but still didn’t know what it had to do with the party. Nevertheless, she kept to her promise and held it every year on that day.        

I must admit it was my favorite day. The wafting smells of the cookies in the front garden were a treat on their own. Ginger, chocolate, oats, strawberry, coconuts, anise, ice-cream, plum, orange, and many more flavors. Ahh, my favorite day of the year. It may seem odd that a cat like me has an appetite for cookies, but they are such delicious pieces of dough (I admit I can be peculiar sometimes). Anise is my favorite flavor if you were wondering (Ohh, thank God we have Mrs. Harrison as a neighbor!) 

The garden as every year was swarming with people from all the houses, and children were playing about and running in all directions. Valerie walked calmly to each stand and welcomed all of our neighbors, and as we walked I saw all kinds of decorations: walnuts, chocolate, frosting, sprinkles, raisins, almonds, and everything you could think of. 

I walked behind Valerie and enjoyed all the pats from the neighbors (and also the cookies). Not to brag of course, but I'm rather a favorite one among the children. They all take turns patting and holding me. They miraculously manage to catch me without coming into contact with Valerie. They all seem to be afraid for some mysterious reason of anyone with no parents. All throughout the day, they avoid her, even though she doesn’t seem like a scary old lady. 

After some turns, I decided to finish the tour among the children, and with a few uncomfortable purrs, I was able to slip out and follow Valerie among the other cookie stands. On the far end of the garden, new wafts of the sweet aroma were coming: lemon bites with chocolate, caramel rods covered with pretzels, rosemary hearts with parmesan, toffee cookies with coffee, peanuts stars topped with chocolate, marshmallow s’mores, and gingerbread men with chocolate hats. 

After Valerie saw everyone she turned to go back to her chair in front of the house. A dainty looking boy, almost 9 years old, was eating a cinnamon cookie and looking intently at the flowers on the side. Abruptly, he looked away and glanced around. He saw Valerie (who was herself eating a peppermint cookie) and plucked her shirt. Surprised, Valerie glanced around. It took her a moment to see the boy. “Hello, do you need anything little boy?” No kid EVER talked with her.

“No thank you, however, I wanted to ask: are you the owner of this garden?” 

“Yes, this is my house.” 

“Well, I wanted to congratulate you; your daylilies, and begonias are blooming!” 

He looked genuinely happy.

“Thank you. Mmm, do you live around here? I have never seen you before.”

At that, the boy looked a little distressed. Unexpectedly Valerie tactfully asked, “What’s your name, little one?”

“Ethan.”

“Well Ethan,  since you are evidently not from the neighborhood, let me show you around my garden.”

“What’s your name, umm I’m sorry I mean...” 

“It’s ok. My name is Valerie” she smiled and beckoned him towards the house. 

I saw on Valerie's face a smile I had long missed, and in her voice a tone I had long wished to hear. 

And though Valerie never knew why her mother made her pledge such a promise, I got to know why. Rebecca indeed knew what could bring life back to her daughter. She wanted her to know that even with her father’s death, there’s still love and happiness around her. Valerie just had to look for it. The cookie exchange party Rebecca had made had more to it than just eating some cookies (although this is in my opinion another legitimate reason). She wanted her daughter to find the love she needed.

***

Ethan was invited to our house multiple times after that party. We found out that he was from a nearby orphan house. 

“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?” inquired Valerie kindly.

“Well, I was afraid you’ll kick me out. In addition, it’s not the first thing I say when I introduce myself to a lady,” said Ethan smiling 

Every visit of his made Valerie happier. She decided at the end to adopt him and started to invite all the kids from the orphan house to the party every year. She came back to making the cookies herself. She became her young merry self again. 

It’s wondrous how love can change a person. Valerie had a goal in mind now: she will raise Ethan, and be as kind to him as her parents were to her.

The glint in her eyes was back again.